Olympic girls beat NK in ugly battle for third

Coach, fan ejected from the heated game

North Kitsap's coach Tim French was ejected when he disagreed with a referee's call in the fourth quarter of the game against Olympic. North lost 48-39.
(Steve Zugschwerdt | Special to the Kitsap Sun)

BREMERTON - Sparked by Jalyn Halstead's 3-pointers in the first half and a strong defensive effort, the Olympic Trojans all but clinched a spot at the district tournament with a 49-38 win over the North Kitsap Vikings on Friday night.

The key Olympic League game for both teams included ejections and technical fouls.

North Kitsap had a half-game lead over the Trojans for the crucial No. 3 seed into the Class 2A West Central sub-district tournament. With the win, Oly (11-8 overall, 9-6 league) jumped ahead of the Vikings (9-7, 8-6) and has all but locked up the third seed. The Trojans hold all three tiebreakers over NK.

North Kitsap, which has two games remaining, fell to the fourth spot. The top five Class 2A teams play in the sub-district tournament, but the top three earn automatic berths to the West Central District tournament.

"Tonight's game was key," Oly coach Laurie Shaw said.

Halstead's long-range shooting lifted the Trojans to a 26-16 lead at halftime and Oly increased its lead to 36-21 after the third thanks to some solid play under the bucket by junior forward Ashli Payne.

"(Halstead) can shoot," NK assistant coach Dave Snyder said. "We were guarding her well and she was shooting well. That kind of kills the defense."

Oly led by as much as 18 points, 42-24, when with less than three minutes left when the game took a turn for the worse. North Kitsap coach Tim French was issued a technical foul for arguing a call with an official. He was given a second technical for unsportsmanlike conduct and was ejected with 2:42 remaining.

Olympic's Halstead took the free throws and went 3 for 4 to give Oly a comfortable 45-24 lead. Halstead finished with 21 points to lead all players.

NK showed its frustrations, knowing a golden opportunity had slipped through their fingers.

"Whether out of control or not, we needed to play better," said Snyder, who took over for French in the final minutes.

Snyder gave credit to the Trojans for sticking to their game plan.

"They're a tough opponent for anybody," he said. "I don't care who it is. They're the ones that knocked off Kingston in the playoffs last year."

The game was interrupted again at the 1:40 mark as a student was ejected for walking behind the NK bench and uttering profanities at the players. That prompted an NK parent to complain to Oly's coaching staff during the game. Oly athletic director Nate Andrews escorted the student out of the gym.

Overshadowed by the final minutes was the intense match up between NK senior forward Indigo Williams and Oly's junior forward Payne. Williams and Payne stuck to each other like glue throughout the game giving fans plenty of action under the baskets. Payne finished with 13 points while Williams had 14.

"Two very talented athletes going at it? They are fun to watch," Shaw said.

"Best match up in the Olympic League," Snyder added.

The Vikings face Klahowya Monday before taking on district rival Kingston Tuesday to finish the season.

"We have to set the tone with Klahowya and Kingston," Snyder said. "There's a lot riding on Kingston besides a record. You can throw the record out when it comes to rivalry (games). Our girls played very hard the whole game. We had a great first quarter. We kind of let down in the second quarter."

Shaw also said she can empathize with French.

"I feel bad for Tim," she said. "It's a tough spot. ... He's a great guy and he's doing what he can, but once again, I told our girls 'You stay under control no matter what happens. We play our game and you take care of the basketball.'"

The Trojans also can't afford to look past anyone, Shaw said.

"You don't want to go limping into the playoffs," she said. "There's no bigger game right now than Tuesday's game at Klahowya."